An Honor To Serve A King
by GoldGuardian2418
Summary: Rafiki and Simba reflect back on the past and the baboon shows that he is honored to serve the son of his close friend. Done as a request for pokemonsora01. :)


**pokemonsora01 asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy! :)**

 **The Lion King belongs to Disney. I own nothing.**

 **A/N: This story contains major spoilers for "The Lion King", "The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride", and "The Lion King 1 1/2", which all belong to Disney. This is also my first Lion King story, so please, be gentle in the reviews. Thank you.**

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 **An Honor To Serve A King**

Simba gazed over his pride, smiling as he watched his wife Nala giving the new cubs a bath. Rafiki, the old baboon, had come and blessed the children when they had been born and he could already see that they had the same adventurous spirits his older daughter and son had. In fact, his oldest daughter was expecting some cubs and she and her mate were excited to be parents.

"Ah, it is peaceful for a change," came a familiar voice and Simba turned to see Rafiki coming up to stand beside him. The old baboon then bowed in respect and chuckled. "Just like your father. He would often watch over his pride after you were born."

Simba smiled. "I've got a lot of responsibility," he admitted. "Father was a great king and I'm sure the pride misses him."

"Ah, yes," the old baboon said softly. "Mufasa ruled wisely for many years. His death greatly saddened us."

He saw Simba hang his head. "If I had stayed after Father died...," he began.

"Then Scar would have found a way to do away with you too, instead of being led to believe you had perished," Rafiki said gently. "But...if I had known, I would have immediately sought you out, Simba. I would have raised you to be ready to take your father's place."

The red-maned lion looked at him gratefully. "But that would have no doubt put you in danger too," he said. "And Timon and Pumba didn't do a bad job of 'raising' me. They were like the big brothers I never had."

Rafiki chuckled. "Ah, yes," he said. "Those two. Quite a pair. And then you three made quite a trio."

Simba looked curious. "How did you find me anyway?" He asked.

"One day, the wind carried your scent to my tree," the baboon answered. "I at first did not recognize the scent until suddenly it hit me that it was you. I was overjoyed to learn that the prince was alive and knew it would bring joy if the others knew, but I had to find you first and convince you that you had to return."

"You and Nala both," Simba said with a chuckle. "She's got that fire in her that made us fast friends when we were cubs."

Another chuckle escaped the baboon. "And then your daughter and her intended, uniting both prides," he said. "She's got your spirit, her mother's spirit, and Mufasa's spirit in her."

"Yeah, she's too much like me sometimes," the ruler of Pride Rock said sheepishly.

"Ah, Mufasa was once young too," Rakifi said. "I remember when he was just a cub. He too love to explore, wanting to see the pride lands. Scar often went with him, but sadly, their brotherhood did not last after Scar had been injured by a wildebeest. Though Mufasa tried to repair their bond, Scar was too bitter."

"And I used to admire him," Simba said, surprised to hear of how his uncle had been injured. "But Father took his duties seriously. I never knew him to be adventurous."

"Ah, but he was," the baboon said gently. "Before he met your mother, but even after he met her, he thirsted for adventure, learning about the land and what places to avoid. Even the hyenas back then respected your grandfather and many were friends with your father until Scar tried to turn them against his father and brother. After that, the hyenas were banished.

"Perhaps they can join the others on the pride," the red-maned lion said. "I was a bit too harsh with those who followed Scar, especially Kovu."

He then looked at the baboon. "Why did you try to play matchmaker with my daughter and Kovu anyway?" He asked.

Rafiki chuckled. "Blame your father for that," he said playfully, glancing skyward and feeling a breeze playfully ruffle his fur. "Hey! You know you planned it!" The baboon protested playfully, making Simba chuckle.

"Guess Father saw potential for the two prides to be reunited," he said. "And I'm glad, because my daughter's happy, though...I nearly lost her when I had Kovu exiled."

"You were looking out for her in concern," the monkey said gently. "Mufasa would have done the same for you and her."

Simba glanced around again. "Rafiki, do you think...I'm doing a good job? Like my father?"

Rafiki was quiet a moment before he stood up and faced him. "Simba, you are wise and a great leader, just like your father was," he said seriously. "I have watched you grow into the role of leadership and you have made some mistakes, but have learned from them. And, just as I was honored to serve your father, I am honored to serve you, a wise and noble king. Mufasa is proud of you as I am."

Some of the cubs tumbled over to them and the baboon chuckled as they came closer to him before one grabbed his walking stick. "Hey! Not the stick!" He exclaimed, running after them and making Simba laugh as he recalled when he had playfully snatched the baboon's stick, mostly because he had been a little annoyed with the baboon for making him learn a life lesson with it, though it had been a good life lesson to learn.

Rafiki managed to get his staff back from the cubs and gently ushered them back to their mother, which would have worked if they hadn't tackled him playfully. He laughed, knowing they were just playing.

Zazu, who was nearby, chuckled slightly. "Better him than me," he said, giving Simba a look and the male lion chuckled.

"You did keep me and Nala out of trouble a lot, Zazu," he said.

"True, though you didn't listen to me very much," the bird said, though his words held no heat. "Not to mention your father insisting I be the target of your pouncing."

He saw a shadow fall over him and looked up to see Simba nearly on him. "AAAAAAAHHHH!" He screamed as he fell to the ground and was pinned by the male lion, who chuckled and let him up.

"Sorry, Zazu, couldn't resist," he said.

The poor bird staggered to his feet. "You are too much like your father," he said with a smile on his face, showing he wasn't upset. "Just don't have the cubs pounce on me, please? My old heart can't take much more scares like that."

"Alright," Simba promised. "By the way, how did the pride lands look?"

"All is well," Zazu reported happily. "The recent rains have helped with the dry spell and everything is flourishing well."

The ruler of Pride Rock was pleased to hear that. The dry spell had had him worried, but the rains had provided relief from that, thankfully. Nala, noticing her husband was deep in thought, came up to him, smiling as she saw her cubs playing with Rafiki.

"Simba?" She questioned curiously.

He smiled at her. "I'm alright, Nala," he said, nuzzling her. She nuzzled him back, proud of her mate. The family gathered around as night fell and even Timon and Pumba came to help with the cubs.

Rafiki smiled as he watched them all before heading to his tree, gazing up into the sky. "Yes, it was an honor to serve you, Mufasa," he said. "And it's an honor to serve your son, Simba."

The wind gently blew around him and he smiled as he went into his tree, gazing fondly at Pride Rock. While he did many things, nothing brought him more honor and pride than to serve his king.

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 **GoldGuardian2418**


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